A 43 year-old El Al flight attendant infected with measles died today after being hospitalized for the past five months and quarantined in serious condition in the Meir Medical Center in Kfar Saba. She contracted the disease during a flight from John F. Kennedy Airport in New York to Tel Aviv in late March. El Al has immunized its air crew.
The Ministry of Health has called on passengers who were exposed to measles patients during flights to get themselves immunized within six days of the flight date, especially passengers born after 1957 who were not inoculated against measles with two injections. Symptoms include a temperature and one or more of the following: coughing, a runny nose, eye infection, and a rash.
Measles is one of the world's most infectious diseases. The probability that an un-inoculated person who comes into contact with a patient will contract the disease is over 90%. The disease is transmitted through emissions from the respiratory system and contact with a person having the disease. Incidents of infection have recently increased, because the frequency of inoculation against measles has fallen.
El Al said, "El Al expresses its sorrow at the death of a member of its air steward crew. The company has taken action to inoculate its air crews, and will continue to act in the matter in accordance with instructions from the Ministry of Health. We share the family's deep sorrow, and will continue to extend our help."
Published by Globes, Israel business news - en.globes.co.il - on August 13, 2019
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